I need to arrange care, where do I start?

“Mum needed care quite suddenly, so it was all a bit stressful and rushed. Understanding the process and knowing where to start was really hard to find. I spoke to Jamie on the customer care team, who helped guide me through the process”

Follow Rosie’s journey on how she helped her choose and move into a care home.

In order to find out what care you need, your council will need to do a free assessment – this is called a care needs assessment. We can put you in contact with your local authority to request an assessment, call us free on 0345 600 4622^ to get started or if you live in England or Wales you can apply online here

"First thing we did was speak to the local authority and arrange a care needs assesment, it was free and happened quite quickly”

Step 2Agree a care plan

After the care needs assessment, you’ll be provided with a copy of the agreed care plan. This is agreed between yourself, family members, carers, health professionals and your GP, to make sure everyone's on the same page.

“We had a care plan agreed with mum’s nurse, GP and myself and the local authority carried out an assessment of her finances to see if they can offer any support.”

Step 3Have a financial assessment

After you’ve had the care needs assessment and everyone is happy with the care plan, there will be a financial assessment. This is undertaken by the local authority and will try to determine how much you will need to contribute to your care based on your circumstances.

“Mum lives in England and has £18,000 worth of capital. That meant the local authority were happy to help, but they’d deduct £15 from their weekly contributions as she was £3,750 over the lower limit.”

Step 4Your local authority will let you know how much support they will provide

After the financial assessment your local authority will write to you and let you know how much they will be paying towards your care. How much they will pay will depend on the type of care you need, the area you live in and your own personal circumstances.

“After the financial means test, we were given a budget the local authority would give us, it helped, but we did need to top it up.”

I didn’t have to sell mums home

“Mum was living with her sister Carol, who she owned her home with. Carol is 71, meaning they weren’t expected to sell their home.”

Step 5Find a care home that meets your needs

At this stage your local authority will be able to provide you with a number of homes that meet your needs and budget. If they’re unable to provide a care home that meets this criteria, they must fund an alternative home.

“After looking around our local area, there were five houses we liked. We spoke to Keith, in the customer care team who helped us narrow it down to three and then booked visits for us. He also helped us find other funding that was available to us.”

Step 6Book to view a few care homes

Once you’ve got a shortlist, you’ll want to take a visit to the care homes you’re considering. There may be a number of things you’ll want to ask and see for yourself. It’s worth downloading our handy guides and speaking to our customer care team afterwards, as they’ll be able to answer any extra questions you have.

“Keith booked appointments for us, gave us a checklist and provided questions we should ask.”

Our local authority covered most of the cost

“The home Mum liked best had higher fees than in her agreed budget, so I chose to pay a third party top up fee to cover the difference.”

Step 7Visit a few care homes and meet the manager and nurses

We recommend viewing all of the care homes on your shortlist so you can get a real feel for the place. It’s also a great opportunity to speak to the care home manager, the nurses, chefs and even residents and family members if they’re around.

“We went to see three homes, one of those homes was Hatfield Peverel. We met Chris at Hatfield Peverel where we had a lovely bit of lunch in the gardens. Our care advisor, Keith was on hand afterwards to see how it went. We decided Hatfield Peverel was our preferred choice.”

Step 8Have a free Bupa care home assessment

Anyone coming to stay with us in a Bupa care home will need to have an assessment to check that we can care for their needs. This can be done at any time – even if you’re yet to have the local authority assessment.

“Once we’d chosen Hatfield Peverel, Keith set us up with an assesment with the home manager and staff.”

Step 9Move in and settle into life in your new home

From the day our residents move in, we do everything we can to ease any worries as they settle in. There'll be a warm welcome waiting for them, as well as support for the whole family while everyone adjusts to the change.

“We helped mum move into her room, she took bits of furniture and items that meant a lot to her. She had a lovely view and was immediately invited to join in the activities.”

Step 10Review funding and care needs regularly

We’ll continue to review both the care needs and financial needs of our residents to ensure they’re getting the correct level of care and funding from the local authority.

If your financial situation changes contact your local authority as you may be eligible for more funding.

“After a few years, mum’s capital fell close to the lower capital limit of £14,250, so we got back in touch with her local authority to see if they could help.
After another financial assessment, they said she had fallen below the lower capital limit and they would now fully fund her care.”

Download one of our free guides

We've created a number of guides to give you advice on where to start and what to expect.

Find a care home from our network of over 120 care homes across the UK

Location:

Location closest to
Care home name

Search results

Search for a care home by location and we will show you homes nearby.

Help when you need it

Choosing a care home can be stressful, especially if you've never done it before. Where do you start? Well, right here. Our helpful, understanding care advisers offer free advice on anything from funding to finding just the right home.

^ Lines are open 8am to 6.30pm Monday to Friday, 9am to 12.30pm Saturday. Closed Sundays and bank holidays. Calls are charged at no more than local rate and count towards any inclusive minutes from mobiles. We may record or monitor our calls.